Which tyres do I choose?

[essexboydave]

Has anyone got any suggestions on good tyres for a US Custom? I had my first ride on the road with my XS today and 3 miles of slightly damp tarmac convinced me the old Barracuda tyres it came with have got to go!!! I want something with a good level of grip, that will work in the rain, and given the state of English roads be able to withstand the odd pothole or broken surface. It'd be nice if they looked cool as well but in this case the practicalities have to come first

 

[XS1961]

Avon Roadriders

 

[XSLeo]

I have set Of the Pirelli MT Route 66 tires on my 81. They work very well in the rain. Got caught in the rain about 40 miles from home. Started taking it a bit easy, wet roads and all. I then said this would be a good time to test these tires. First time with then in the wet.
So I started pushing the bike, the farther I went the more I pushed it. As i pushed the bike the more confident of the tires I got and before I got home I was pushing it as hard as I might have if the roads were dry.
Could they be pushed farther by a better rider? Maybe? I was impressed enough with them to buy them again when I buy tires.
They preform as well if not better than the Bridgestone Spit Fire II's I have on the 75.
On how long they last it's hard to say, Iv'e only get a few thousand miles on either set. But at this point they show no noticable wear.
Leo

 

[essexboydave]

Cheers for the replies, I've also had Bridgestone BT45's recommended to me as well so it may just come down to price/availability.
XSLeo I was impressed by your reply but curiously when I checked Pirelli's website they don't supply any suitable tyres for the XS in the UK I also noticed that the Avon Roadriders are only available with whitewalls in North America too!

 

[Paulrxs650]

Continental do quite a good selection

 

[XSLeo]

I don't know about the Pirelli web site. I just get on Ebay, search for the brand, model and size tire I want, hit the list by price with shipping and handling, low to high then by the first on the list. Leave out any used tires.
That's how I have bought my tires for years. Mount them myself, balance with Dyna Beads. Great product by the way, easy to use and can be swapped from one tire or tube to the next.
Use them in the bikes as well as my van.
Leo

 

[essexboydave]

I don't know about the Pirelli web site. I just get on Ebay, search for the brand, model and size tire I want, hit the list by price with shipping and handling, low to high then by the first on the list. Leave out any used tires.
That's how I have bought my tires for years. Mount them myself, balance with Dyna Beads. Great product by the way, easy to use and can be swapped from one tire or tube to the next.
Use them in the bikes as well as my van.
Leo

I've never known anyone use Dyna Beads although I have heard of them, I might give them a try as I believe it saves having those ugly weights stuck on the wheel.
I always used to fit my own tyres but for the last 15 years my mate has been working in a tyre fitters so by a strange coincidence I've not fitted a tyre for 15 years

 

[scabber]

I like the ME 880 Metzeller. Good in rain and gruved Pavment. Last forever I got 15000 miles out of rear tire the front still going.

 

[essexboydave]

I like the ME 880 Metzeller. Good in rain and gruved Pavment. Last forever I got 15000 miles out of rear tire the front still going.

I thought I was doing well when I got 5,000 miles from a tyre let alone 15,000!!!!!! I'm impressed

 

[scabber]

They are built for a heavyer bike. I know all about 5000 mile tires. I have wore out a Dunlop less than 5000 miles. Bought another ME 880. Had the tire mounted lined the dot on the tire with valve stem. No wheel weights needed to balance.

 

[hard_y_rd]

Interested to know how those beads work on tire balancing?

 

[jd750ace]

+1 on the Pirelli MT66 in the wet. Good tire. I got 8-9K out of a set on my Shadow 750. 500 pound bike, but if you use a 16 inch rear, you will likely have a much harder tire, with a load rating of 73H. It's made for a much heavier bike. I would be inclined to use the front fitment 130/90-16, which is a 67H load rating, and will in all likelihood have a less stiff sidewall, although they do ride well, even the 77H that I used on my Shadow.

 

[xjwmx]

I have set Of the Pirelli MT Route 66 tires on my 81. ...
They preform as well if not better than the Bridgestone Spit Fire II's I have on the 75.

On my own '81 I thought Spitfires always felt like they wanted to break loose on city corners in the rain. Next change I put on Kenda Challengers and am happier all-round. The Kendas are good in wet grass and mud.

 

[pamcopete]

ME 880's on my heavier CB750C. Bridgestone SpitFires on the other four bikes. Tried Shinko SR712 on the front of my CB750K-4 and it was awful so I removed it and replaced with a SpitFire. The Shinko needed 2 Oz of weight to balance. The SpitFire only needed 1/4 OZ on the same wheel. The tire guy said that he breaks the tire down if the weight exceeds 2 Oz to check for defects, like excessive rubber in one place, and I think that is what was wrong with the Shinko because it was "lumpy" going down the road. The Shinko is about half the price of a SpitFire, but I bought one because I don't put that many miles on the CB750K-4, but, I'm back to SpitFires.

I had a Barracuda on the front of the CB750C when I got it and I thought it was going to kill me it was so unstable in the curves. There was a Metzler on the rear, so I replaced the Barracuda with a ME 880.

 

[jd750ace]

I had a barracuda on an EX500 that I never wore out. Same thing. Unstable. Pulled it and installed a Pirelli, IIRC.

 

[paulpops55]

Pete, how long ago did you have a problem with the shinko's ? I heard the quality has improved as of late .....

 

[XSLeo]

On the Dyna Beads I love them. Cost is about the same as getting a tire shop to balance a tire.
It can take a bit to feed them into the valve stem. In a tubless tire it's easy just dump them in the tire. They can be saved out of the old tire/tube and put in the new. On the Harley the beads are in the second set of tires.
On the 75 XS650 with the Bridgestone tires I did some testing. Mounted the front tire, balanced with weights on the spokes. Rode it, Felt better than old tires. Pulled the weights, rode it, very lumpy ride. Added the Dyna Beads, rode, was better than the balance weights. Did the same on the rear. With both wheels done the ride was very much smoother than with tires balanced with lead weights.
On the Harley with the Dunlop D401's the effect wasn't as noticable as on the 650 but was much better than before. Could be the price difference in the tires. A more expencive tire has better natural balance. I put them in when the tires had about 5-6000 miles on them. The tires didn't wear the same as they usually did. Not near as much cupping on the front tire. Got a couple 1000 more miles on the tires. I usually get about 11-12000 on the rear, 14-15 on the front. Got closer to 15,000 0n the rear and 17,000 on the front. Kinda guessing on the front's I always change out the tires as pairs.
If you want to learn more about the Dyna Beads check out www.innovativebalancing.com Read the reviews from the guys who run the great big mudder tires on thier trucks.
Leo